Welcome back dear readers
/ listeners. Before I proceed further, allow me to qualify – the
records I am using for this segment (and its eventual sequel) were
cobbled together over a period of several years. I am a busy human. I
have a day job, family and all the pressures of modern life bearing
down unrelentingly. The vinyl and writing thing are part of my
entertainment. I don't watch TV and I haven't been to the movies in a
whole lot of years! THIS IS MY DOWN TIME ACTIVITY. There are also a
few months out of the year I have slightly more time to devote to my
hobbies so what follows is a product of several years of research and
reflection.........
Like a lot of
folks, I like music. Certainly what appeals to me mainly is stuff of
bygone days, but I've been checking out some new music the last bunch
of years and I can dig some modern stuff too. I've even been to see
some new artists in concert lately – I got to see White Denim, for
instance. Great show! I will report more on that another time.
Especially since the opening act was fantastic! That band was called
UNI
- from New York City. I enjoyed them so much I bought the three 7”
discs they were selling at the show (unsure if they have other
releases). Check them out!
My tastes in music really
do run the gamut so I figured borrowing a term from Sun Ra might help
illustrate what could be called THE OMNIVERSE of interests. Some of
this is motivated just from fascination with records themselves.
Albums that look offbeat, fringe and truly bizarre always catch my
eye even if I've never heard the music before. I'm always on the
lookout for cheap thrills especially – stuff that looks interesting
that is cheap enough to take a chance on. I've had some real good
luck at thrift stores and also in the dollar and five dollar bins at
local used record shops. It dawned on me that I haven't really passed
along some home runs and whiffs from this category I've managed to
experience over the years. Keep in mind I have some very varied
tastes – I can find enjoyment in nearly any genre – especially in
those gray zones: groups or singers trying to cross over into some
uncharted territory or maybe into a style they don't quite have a
knack for. Good and bad can be very relative terms when it comes to
music. Sometimes I'll take a chance and get burned. There are plenty
of turkeys, but the golden nuggets are out there too. All set then?
Onward....................
Lets start with central
Europe. A few years ago I stumbled upon a clutch of import LPs in a
thrift store that looked kinda prog-esque to me. It also seemed like
there was a larger collection they came from which must have been
plundered by luckier folks than me. Still, I found this:
Novalis – Visionen:
Novalis – Visionen:
This record is
all-instrumental and was released in the early 80s, by which time
Novalis had moved on from the label they called home in the 70s –
BRAIN. I reckon most German rock band historians would agree that
Novalis were past their heyday when VISIONEN came out, but I love
this record!! It's become one of my most-played dollar-acquired LPs
ever. I've managed to score a few earlier Novalis records on the
BRAIN label, but VISIONEN is still my favorite. Not that I'm put off
by German language singing.........here's another dollar record I
really like from Germany in the early 80s....
Bap
- Fur Usszeschnigge!
Bap is a great band name,
first of all. The album has fantastic sound quality and reflects good
pop/rock songwriting standards of the era. I don't know what the
songs are about, but I like the music for sure. With so many
overplayed 80s hits – the sound of quality early 80s rock that I
don't know by heart is a breath of fresh air. It helps that I don't
get hung up on having to understand lyrics. At the end of the day,
it's the composition / performance / production that gets my
attention. I have no idea how big of an act BAP was, but I'd have
gone to see them back in the day!
Moving a bit further
East.......the band OMEGA
from Hungary
The sleeve credits mention
the album being recorded in West Germany in 1974. It was released on
Passport Records in the USA in 1975 and mastered by the great Bob
Ludwig! It is an excellent hard rock / prog type album with all the
great production values of the mid-70s. Wonderful sound quality and
plenty of mellotron included! What's more – the vocalists sang in
English! Very enjoyable – though I didn't pay $1 yet still a
“blind” purchase for me. Highly recommended.
Yet, even rock music from
other countries is still rock music. I do like other vibrations –
perhaps more conventional to the times in which the records were
released, yet rarely heard these days. Let's move across the English
Channel............
First up – the great
Vera Lynn!
Who could resist a pristine copy of Hits
of the Blitz for $1? Not me!
Like most people I only
knew Vera Lynn for her evergreen WWII hit “We'll Meet Again” -
yet she is a wonderful singer and her talent is abundantly evident on
this excellent LP. This LP really is a wonder to hear these days –
and just think Vera Lynn is still alive in England to this very day.
Think of that – she outlived Bowie!
Perhaps history will
remember Val Doonican as a popular Irish singer (he certainly was
Irish), yet he had a long-running TV show on BBC. And, of course, he
was immortalized by the Bonzo Dog Band in their classic “Intro and
the Outtro” - where I first heard the name.....and Val Doonican as
himself! Hello there!!
So what was I going to do
when I saw The Many Shades of Val
Doonican for $1?
This is very middle of the road folksie
pop music yet it is refreshing today to hear such simple heartfelt
music. And this LP includes Val's version of “Elusive Butterfly”
which reminds me – I sent Bob Lind a facebook friend request that
he has yet to respond to – the wonk! As if he has better things to
do! Harrumph. At any rate, I'm likely to keep the Val Doonican record
since hearing his brogue reminds me of the many happy times I spent
at the Keegans' house down the street from where I lived in Queens –
where Suzy was my earliest friend. Her parents sported thick accents
that were quite musical to hear – wonderful people to me as a young
lad growing up in New York City. Managed to re-connect with Sue
before she married in the fateful year of 2001. Where's she gone now?
Lost track. Ah, well.......
Speaking of the Bonzo
Dog Band.........I was lucky to score a vinyl copy of their
reunion LP from 2007 Pour
l'Amour Des Chiens
I remember well the excitement of
reading how the Bonzos were reuniting for some shows in England
during that time. I so wanted to hop a plane and score a ticket to
witness firsthand, yet it was not to be. I got the DVD and LP
instead. I wish I'd have ordered the Pink Half of the Drainpipe
T-shirt being offered on the website..........blast! Ah, with my luck
I'd have worn it to a bare thread by now anyway. Why don't I see
these being sold on ebay? Please don't tell me the unsold stock was
destroyed. Oh, the horror! Anyway, some folks didn't like the new
album. Tough noogies – I did. So there you go.
Other notable British bands I've
checked out without hearing the music first have been:
DRUID (I like this better than YES
“Relayer”)
FAMILY – Bandstand (really knocked me
out)
GREENSLADE (gets better with each
spin)
In each case I saw the LP in the bins
and just bought it without sampling on youtube first. I know this
seems like reckless behavior or just plain stupid. However, there is
a certain thrill of being confronted with a record or group you've
not heard before and exploring right from the vinyl get-go.
Literally, some classic albums do not translate onto digital well AT
ALL. And I'm not one of those holier-than-thou, analog-only types. I
love my CDs and I do like hearing things on youtube if I haven't seen
the records before. But at least two albums did not really spark with
me until I broke down and ordered original LP copies: Robert Wyatt's
Rock Bottom and Judy Henske & Jerry Yester's Farewell Aldebaran
both puzzled me until I heard the vinyl records. Maybe I just heard
bad digital copies – who knows? So I like to at least give music a
first chance on vinyl if I can.
But it isn't just about rock music.
Speaking of Judy Henske – she's one of my favorite folkie / rocker
border creature singers. While she would ultimately define her own
style based on her own unique personality, she began in the folk
idiom in the early 60s. One of her first appearances on vinyl was as
a member of the Whiskeyhill Singers.
There was only one LP on Capitol and I have both mono and stereo
copies (stereo platters were much less common in those days –
surprised I scored one in nice condition):
The record sticks quite close to the
typical cheerful folk group formula all the rage in the early 60s.
Though not as cloying as this record I pulled out of the dollar bin
for laughs –
The Serendipity Singers
were not too many paces removed from Up With People! Oh
well......nice early stereo sound on this record though, if that's
your bag...........
My bag for folk is more likely to
include Judy Henske and Fred Neil than The Cheerful Chirpees that's
for sure. I know I've written about my fascination with the “folk”
category before. It seems to me that the “folk” tag means you can
start out with an acoustic guitar and eventually wind up doing all
manner of crazy stuff. In some ways, Townes Van Zandt was folk. Marc
Bolan was folk. Donovan was folk. And they all surely got up to
pretty strange stuff along the pathways of their varied careers.
Certainly by the late 60s and early 70s, the notion of the folksinger
would give way to the singer-songwriter. The influence of Dylan and
the Beatles would be evident since the singer-songwriters would
mostly perform original material instead of public domain material or
evergreen folkie chestnuts. In some ways, the folk boom of the early
60s was a way for white singers to remind white audiences that there
were songs from varied cultures they might enjoy. Yet, the versions
the white audiences heard were the white singer interpretations
mainly. By the late 60s, many listeners were able to experience the
original music from the original artists – no matter the ethnic
origins. So the shift could then move to – the interior of the
heart and mind of each songwriter instead of a musical geography
lesson. Exploration of inner space instead of outward space (as
opposed to outer space – something very different). Here's an
example of a record that sits uncomfortably around several possible
genres which makes it fascinating for weirdos like me. And I bought
it because the album cover tipped me off that this could be interesting.
Certainly is!!
Andy Zwerling –
Spiders in the Night
These days I imagine the music might be
described as psych-folk. Not a bad description, yet I reckon at the
time of release (1971) Zwerling was considered just another
singer-songwriter. The instrumentation is sparse and focused on
acoustic guitar / electric bass instrumentation. Really - not far
off the folk path. Yet, the music has something in common with the
third, self-titled Velvet Underground album stylistically speaking.
Zwerling's album was produced and birthed by two folks who would
later contribute to the punk music movement within a few short years:
Richard Robinson and Lenny Kaye. Zwerling is not exactly punk though
the lyrics can be unsettling – more in the Velvets style than the
Ramones, certainly (though Zwerling does have a bit of a Joey Ramone
vibe going visually). It is a fascinating record and well worth
checking out if you've been feeling far too secure and comfortable
and social. It will cure you fairly quickly of all that stuff! Ha!
Now, not all folk music involves
acoustic guitars. Some is made entirely with shakers, oil can drums
and the human voice. Behold – George Coleman
“Bongo Joe”
This has to be heard to be believed, hence
the clip here:
Yes, the whole record sounds like this.
Frig it – I call it “folk music”. You can call it blues. I
don't care. George Coleman was pure, undiluted, straight-up - I mean
we're talkin' FOLKS here! I searched for a long time for this album.
It was more a matter of figuring out where it came from! Since there
aren't many oil can bangers out there it was only a matter of time –
courtesy of internet searching. Thanks to my good friend Pete who
tortured my mind for a few decades by including a snippet of this on
a tape he made for me a long time ago. It was nearly as bad a mystery
as the Inez Andrews mystery I had to solve, but that story will wait
for another time..............
When I spotted this next LP in a $1 bin I
was aware of Jim Glover's long association with Phil Ochs. It could
be argued that had there been no Jim Glover, the Phil Ochs that we
all know may not have emerged as he did. Jim Glover was a friend from
early times and reportedly showed Ochs how to play guitar and
introduced him to left-wing politics. Jim would record several LPs in
the 1960s with his wife as a folk duo – Jim and Jean. There were a
few albums released on Vanguard Records that I haven't bumped into
yet. Jim's solo album No Need To Explain
looks to be a private pressing, yet his professional chops are
intact.
The songs are uncompromising in their
allegiance to 60s-era values and perhaps not suited to either the
radio or the ethos of the times. Glover is his own man here. If the
popularity of his outlook was on the wane when this record came out,
his true believer status would surely lead him to the right people to
support him. While never reaching stardom, his artistry is worth
checking out. At the end of the day I really like Glover's voice, his
songs and his guitar playing. What else can we ask for? This record
is kind of like the extra album everyone hoped Fred Neil would put
out, but never did. Jim Glover kept it going and that's appreciated –
even if it is a long time away from when this record was released to
now.
Glover's influence on Phil Ochs'
political interests are echoed in the next record I pulled out of a
$1 bin. Little did I know that Violetta
Parra was a respected folksinger from Chile in the early part
of the 20th century when I rescued her album.
She was also
a major influence on the Chilean folksinger Victor Jara who was
brutally murdered in 1973 as a result of the Pinochet overthrow of
the Allende government. Victor Jara was a friend of Ochs and later in
the 1980s, Paul Kantner immortalized Jara on the first track from the
KBC Band album. It is interesting to note that Jara's murderers have
finally been brought to justice THIS VERY MONTH!! About friggin
time. See here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/03/victor-jara-ex-military-officers-sentenced-in-chile-for-1973-death
At any rate, Jara's mentor in folk
music is a fascinating character in her own right, though she led a
troubled life and had a similar end to Ochs, alas. I have to say as I
listened to her record I didn't quite understand the lyrics, but the
urgency and artistry of her music came across loud and clear – I
need to track down some English translations of her lyrics. Violetta
Parra is a seminal figure in the folk music of Chile and, indeed,
world music. Her contributions to music continue to reverberate.
Check her out!
Now, here are two examples of
feminist-inspired creativity, but in my view one done RIGHT and one
done, well, let's say “I don't think so”. Let's start with the
good news..........
Mountain Moving
Day is a split-artist record. Side One features The New Haven
Women's Liberation Band and Side Two features The Chicago Women's
Liberation Band. This is a fairly early release from Rounder Records
in 1972. Rounder would issue many quality titles from a wide variety
of premier artists and continues to do so – NRBQ, The Dirty Dozen
Brass Band, Lowell Fulson – and many more. Rounder continues to be
one of the longest-surviving independent music labels around. This
early women-centric release may appear to be too topical to take
seriously, however there is a LOT of great creativity happening in
the playing. Both groups contribute extended song forms with direct
and forthright lyrics, yet the music itself has a fantastic looseness
and freedom to it – though not in the free-jazz sense. It is
especially noticeable in how the ensemble performances unfold. I'll
bet both groups were awesome to hear live. This is a record which
takes the Women's Movement seriously and elevates the cause. Released
at a time when male groups dominated the charts and the industry,
these brave musicians would lead the charge that has resulted in more
involvement of women at all levels of the music industry today. Bold
creative music is always great to hear.
On the other hand, the women's
liberation movement must have seemed like a new trend to play up to –
maybe not unlike the folk music boom of the early 60s. Musical trends
can be fleeting things – why not try to attach oneself to a current
wave of interest? This notion wasn't lost on Charles Mingus. He once
purposely identified his music as “folk” in the early 60s. If it
sells the product – who cares what you call it? In Mingus's case he
already knew the value of his art. The marketplace is fickle, the
longer trajectory of music history is time-tested. When music becomes
too attached to a movement or a trend there is the very real
possibility it can lose its impact years later. Such, I think, is the
case with The Deadly Nightshade
Clearly
this women-oriented trio had talent and the passion to bring their
music before the public. And it must have been enough of a priority
for Felix Cavaliere to put his energy into the record as the producer
to pull on board a host of top notch musicians of the mid-70s and
rock and roll legends to help in the proceedings. Steve Gadd, the
Brecker Brothers and even Leslie West all play on this album. The
credits read like a who's who of mid-70s modern music. As I'm
starting to find out with projects like this – that should have
been a red flag. As the songs roll by, I'm having a tough time trying
to figure out who the intended audience was. There are so many
cliches of the women's movement packed into each song lyric – yet
the delivery is so jokey and lighthearted it makes me wonder who the
joke is really on. Not that there is anything wrong with humor, it
just sounds so misplaced here I am almost to the point of wondering
“Are these women making fun of the women's movement itself?”
Maybe I'm wrong, but despite all the effort by all the famous names
involved the end product just sounds too silly to take seriously.
What's even more concerning is the name / image used for the record
label. I will resist the urge to include a photo (since I don't want
people to draw the wrong conclusion about ME) – but why on earth
would a major parent label (RCA in this case) sign off on a
subsidiary label with an image of a white hooded figure with two
holes cut out for eyes as a RECORD LABEL LOGO in the 1970s fer
crissakes?? And for a supposed women's liberation record to boot?
Sorry, but if I was a woman in this band and I was told the label my
music was coming out on had that kind of image on the record I'd be
insulted to say the least. Now I'm not suggesting there actually was
a connection between this group and a violent hate group, but wow.
Bad luck, maybe? I don't know anything more about the band, the
musicians involved, where they wound up later on......yet the album
raises more questions for me.......it's a puzzle for sure!
(Alright – I couldn't stand it
anymore – I went poking around and sure enough Robert Christgau
pretty much cut to the chase in a few sentences with his curt review:
http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=2758&name=The+Deadly+Nightshade
). Wow. I was going to write something along the lines of The Deadly
Nightshade makes Helen Reddy sound like Lou Reed, but hey I think
Christgau threw the gauntlet down there didn't he? Oh well.........
As for thrift store $1 finds in the 70s
female folksinger category I'd have to give a nod to
The
Magic Garden duo Paula and Carole
for not only entertaining me
as a wee lad, but also for having great voices and, rightfully,
cheerful personalities. I think I liked this record more than my
grandson did. Your mileage may vary.............
Now I wish I found this Colonel
Sanders record in a thrift store! I think this is one of the
more well-known record covers made famous by the internet, so I was
persuaded to grab this even though I had no idea what the music was
on it. Not to worry! The music is actually very faithful to the
original recordings of Herb Alpert hits by some other group. Actually
it makes me wonder how Colonel Sanders got away with it. The tracks
here sound VERY close in style and execution to the Herb Alpert
versions. Well, I know which record cover I'd rather be looking at if
I'm listening to this kind of music. No contest!
Actually, Herb Alpert had a much better
sound – especially with guys like Hal Blaine on drums and all the
other Wrecking Crew characters too. I really love the Herb
Alpert records – and not just for the covers. I have to say
– the Whipped Cream cover really is an iconic album cover. Anyone
who doesn't have this in their collection – I can't fathom why not.
There are still absurd amounts of these things sitting in thrift
shops. And the music really is great – as far as easy listening
goes. Highly recommended. Now if you're a record cover fanatic,
you're likely to snag one of these too.
Unfortunately, Pat
Cooper's brand of comedy hasn't aged well. It's really saying
something when I have to admit I enjoyed the side of the record with
the goofy songs on it more than the comedy routine side. Actually,
the first song on side two is called Pepperoni Kid and has an
unusually similar storyline in the lyrics to Jim Croce's “Bad Leroy
Brown”. Was Croce influenced by Pat Cooper? I'll leave that to you.
At the end of the day, the album cover is still the best thing about
the whole deal and that isn't saying much either.......oh well!!
Almost as thrilling as the Pat Cooper
record is Grandpa Jones Yodeling Hits.
Now I don't mind some good old fashioned down home yodeling every so
often, but I can't decide if this record promised too much or too
little. Everybody who watched TV in the 70s knew him from the Hee Haw
show (though I imagine he was on the lower end of the reasons why folks tuned into that program!). I reckon his
stature in the country music world was more respected than what was
seen on 70s variety shows, but this record didn't do much to convince me
he had more to offer than a pedestrian voice with the polite yodel
thrown in – probably far too often for repeated listening. If
anything, this album sounded a lot like a 60s Roger Miller album
recorded on a day when Roger just wasn't feeling very funny, witty or
inspired. Is there some unknown maverick side of Grandpa Jones'
career that I'm not aware of? I wouldn't be sad to find out, but it
sure isn't on this platter..........too bad!
Now, I'm not pulling the cynics card on
the next two records since I happen to like a lot of faith-based
music. Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Inez Andrews and the
Staple Singers are just essential listening in my book. Even Elvis's
gospel records are awesome. Love it. When I was in junior high
school, I was exposed to a genre I never knew existed – modern
Christian rock music. Sure, I'd heard songs like Spirit In The Sky on
the radio. And Jesus is Just Alright. Good tunes. But I never knew
there was a whole circuit of professional Christian rock musicians.
At one point I was invited to see the group Petra up in Albany. They
put on a great show, even if the music wasn't terribly memorable.
What I liked less was the roundup at the end of the show where they –
who were “they”? - pulled the “unsaved” people to designated
areas so they could be “saved”. I was a person of faith at that
time and I took offense to be identified as someone who wasn't and
said as much. There's nothing quite like being herded up by a bunch
of people who have decided you are not enough like them in some
bizarre ritual to magically MAKE you like them (to satisfy some
unseen fetish you can only guess at). Well, I suppose there certainly
is WORSE than that, but it sure taught me something about people in
general and those folks in particular. I'd sooner take the Groucho
Pledge – not sure I want to be in a club that would extend
membership to a fool like ME (that kind of thing).
All of that aside, I was astounded to
see an entire industry designed to offer safe alternative sonic
options – supposedly in a style of music normally associated with
concepts like rebellion and freedom and just being crazy in general??
I'm still confused and fascinated by the whole thing, so when I
spotted a couple of early 80s Christian Rock albums in the $1 bins –
had to investigate. Amazingly, the Rick Cua
album was a totally rockin', professional sounding and catchy-as-hell
(oh God, sorry!). I really liked the song about the Holy Spirit and
the song Crossfire too. On some tracks the drummer listed was Joe
English – hey! He was in Wings for Paul McCartney's return to the
concert stage in America in 1976 (good concert film – catch it if
you can). I'd heard Joe English found religion a long time ago. He
certainly was a talented drummer. This record was super enjoyable
from a musical standpoint. Like I mentioned – anything well
recorded and performed from earlier decades of music can be
interesting regardless of the popularity, etc.... So this is a
fascinating artifact. If the record really sucked I would have pulled
it off the turntable. But I kept it on. Alright!
Now, much to my own surprise I had the
same reaction to the Pat Terry record.
The cover and the title really made me chuckle. Gangster? Terry was
looking pretty mild and safe on that cover. I was ready to make fun
of this record, but once again I was won over by the overall musical
quality of what was on those grooves I just kept the platter
spinning. If anything, Pat Terry's songs were just as faith-oriented
yet his delivery was a lot less preachy than Rick Cua. Despite this –
both records reflected more commercial talent than The Deadly
Nightshade album! These two guys sure could construct excellent
modern music – stuff that was radio-ready in those times. Yet, the
only radio that might play them would be the faith-based radio. It's
a whole industry and circuit unto itself.
Annnnndd.....for the thrilling
conclusion of this overly-long entry is the POLAR OPPOSITE of the
above two albums. I discovered a whole pile of the following record
at a thrift store many years ago and was saving it for just the right
moment. I only bought two – one for myself and another for a good
friend of mine who I had a feeling might get a kick out of it. Yet –
I'd never heard it before because it has to be one of the most DIY
things I've ever seen in my life.......
John Konopa - Praise the Lard!
The record itself was professionally
pressed – that is obvious. However, the cover....oh wow. This was
an obvious labor of love and lack of funds. Plain white sleeve with
cutout hole to reveal song titles – alright, fine. The other
lettering.....hang on. These things were printed on an old DOT MATRIX
printer. Okay, well the copyright date states 1987. Yep, that's about
right. My family had a pretty kickin' dot matrix printer. Used to do
all sorts of fancy banners and stuff. Yeah – different fonts just
like this. Wow. What is really impressive is the BACKWARDS printed
section - “X-rated” backwards?? That's pretty sophisticated in a
low-budget kind of way. I really should have bought all of the
records that were dumped there. Dangit! I had a hunch this was going
to be good. And sure enough - John Konopa
delivered in the songwriting department. The music itself sounds like
early karaoke / Computer music in the 1987 style. But its those
lyrics. Konopa was a very harsh critic of religious belief.
Hilariously so! He also has a Holy Spirit song (like Rick Cua above),
but Konopa uses fun analogies like “Sacred Sparkler” - I'm
DYING!!! There are a lot of unexpected lyrical twists throughout the
album. In a way he was a like a one-man irreverent They Might Be
Giants. Heavy on the irreverent!
But the religious side of the record is
nothing compared to the, um....other side. I really don't want to
post the titles because I'm still trying to keep this blog as
family-friendly as I can. Suffice to say, if the material on the
second side has any grounding in autobiography I learned way more
about Konopa than I ever needed to know. Unfortunately I also found
an obituary for John online. He left the planet in 2010 and there
were some very pleasant reminisces from his neighbors posted on the
obit page. There was reference to his being an accordion player and
composing music on synthesizers – though no mention was made of the
record above. Should I be surprised? Honestly – as unsavory as the
material is John certainly had a sense of humor, didn't give a hoot
about speaking honestly of his criticisms of religion and didn't mind
making himself the subject of his own jokes. I can't say his music
was for everyone, but this is the kind of stuff that keeps me digging
in those unusual places.
I'm still on the lookout for fringe
thrills from the dollar bins. And there's MORE to the story here
because this is only Part One and I've bombarded you enough for one
entry. So until next time – keep seeking and keep listening!!
